Pictures

What a blessing!

"Yeah, I'm cute! I know it!!

"Excuse me, but has anyone seen the large ribbons for my hair?
These small ones just aren't going to cut it!!"

Finally Finished!!

Many of you may remember this post of the boys' room. Yes, it's been done for a while. We finished their shelves and they have different bedding(thanks to the Mielke's), but otherwise it has been done for a while. The girls' room, though, took much longer. I had the goofy idea to make the blankets and pillows instead of buying them. I'm glad I did, but man it took forever!!! At any rate it is finished!! Their room is officially ready for them to come home!

Celebrating!

We have all three passports and are waiting for our final approvals from DHS! We could possibly have those in the next few days. After that, we are on to visa appointments!! Praise the Lord for our children coming home soon!! We are hearing the Embassy may be closed next week, so we'll see, but no matter what we are one day closer!! Praise God!!

It's been busy....

This is going to be one of those one line, one picture updates. So much has happened in the past two weeks that I am spinning!

First up, our last day of school!!! Hurray! We made it jammie day and it was so fun!! We are all excited about being out of school for the summer.

So, that was on Friday, May 16th. On Saturday, May 17th we decided we would drive to Jeremy's dad house near Houston, TX. We left on May 18th and arrived on May 19th.
That was a crazy 4 days!

Jeremy had work to do, so we played in the pool!

Finally, his work was finished and we took our traditional trip to the Ice Cream Parlor in Galveston!

We drove home on Friday, driving straight through and arriving home at 2:00am. We worked in the yard all day and then off to see Elias since he was in Evansville for the weekend. I took my camera but was too busy laughing to take any pictures.

Sunday was church and then our youth group came over for a bonfire. They are a great group of kids! Love you guys!

As you know we got news of Hope's passport so we knew when we got home there was lots of work to do. We made a list during our drive of everything we wanted to do before the kids come home. So our Memorial Day was spent running errands, buying paint, and praying it would quit raining so we could work in the yard again. No such luck on the rain, but all the supplies were purchased to finish up the projects that have been hanging over our heads.

Tuesday became a work day full of painting and pillow making. My wonderful Mom and Mother-in-law came over and made pillows while I painted. They were awesome!
Thank you so much!

Thanks to the pillows and curtains that were created the girls' room is finally nearing completion. I'll post pictures of it after I finish putting it all together today!!

So there you have it. I would love to lay around all day, but apparently our kids are coming home soon, so all those things I've been saying I need to do before they get home....I'm actually going to have to do them now. Pray for me, the list is still somewhat long. :)

One down, two to go.....

Hey blogland! I wanted to let you know that on Thursday morning I received word that Hope had her passport!! We were on cloud nine all day!! So, one down and two to go. Once we have all three I will look at making my arrangements to fly down for the last few steps! Now we are in "kick it in gear" mode. Trying, like mad, to get things done around here so when they are home we can just enjoy for a little while. It's so surreal right now to think that we are actually sooooo close to bringing them home. The Lord is so faithful!! We rejoice in the work of His hands!

Out again....

Well, I believe this time it is for real! We are out of MOI with authorizations for passports! Praise God!! We are assuming they will go to Immigration on Monday! Hallelujah!

My Baby Girl

I love this picture of my baby girl. I know you can't see her face, but she and I spent lots of time working puzzles and laughing together. This picture takes me back. Soon, baby girl, you will be here working puzzles with your Manman. I just happen to LOVE working them too!

Correction.....

Apparently there was some misinformation and we are not quite in Immigration yet.

Praying for good news soon!

Psalm 27:13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
that I would see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

I believe!!

Out of MOI!!!!!

We just found out that we are out of MOI and in Immigration for the printing of the passports! We are so excited! We're praying this step goes quickly and we have three beautiful passports in hand very soon!!

Reaching the End

Ok, just to get rid of the "feel sorry for me because I cut myself post" : ) I thought I would let you know there isn't a whole lot of news yet. The attorney was hopeful we would be out of MOI last Friday but it didn't happen just yet. We are hopeful (and she is too) that we will be out sometime this week. Our parent liaison is in Haiti this week so hopefully we will have some good news soon!

For those of you that aren't in an adoption or don't know how these things work, this is what is left.....

• Exit MOI

• Off to immigration for printing of Passports

• Take Passports to DHS for final approval of I-600 (Orphan Investigations have already been completed and all three were declared orphans by US standards)

• Medical Exam

• Visa Appointment

• Fly Home with our children!!

We are finally reaching the end here people. It is getting so close and we are beyond excited about the idea of bringing our kids home! Please continue to pray with us that these final steps will go smoothly and we will finally have our family complete!

I wanted to share a scripture that the Lord gave me when I was in Haiti. I think we all go through moments of, "Lord, please bring my children home!" I kept "hearing" Isaiah 43, so I turned there and here is what I read......

5 Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your descendants from the east,
And gather you from the west;
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’
Bring My sons from afar,
And My daughters from the ends of the earth—

I thank God for His faithfulness to His Word!

If I could turn back time......

I would have wore a glove.

Sorry, I couldn't resist posting my most recent adventure. Turns out Exact-O knives are quite sharp. Excellent for slicing fingers and severing nerves. : )

I.......

Thanks Angela!

i am: first a child of God, second a wife, third a mother, and fourth a missions committee leader.
i think: I am so blessed with an amazing husband and six wonderful children!
i know: in whom I have belief!
i want: my children home.
i have: more than I could need.
i wish: there were more hours in the day, and that I lived in a warmer climate.
i hate: poverty, sickness, strife, sin,.......
i miss: Mia, Noah & Hope
i fear: nothing but the Lord (Psalm 34)
i feel: at peace.
i hear: Camden and Ali playing with Daisy.
i smell: coffee, wonderful coffee.
i crave: sweets, and did I mention coffee.
i search: for ways to run a better house, though seem to fail miserably.
i wonder: when I will grow up.
i regret: many things from my life BC, but don't dwell there.
i love: my Lord, my family, my friends, my church, my country, my home away from home
i ache: to hold all of my children at the same time and I think that is why God gave me such big thighs, so they will all fit. Oh wait, maybe that was the sweets and not God that made them so big. Shootamaroo!
i care: deeply for the children and staff of Three Angels!
i always: cry when I leave Haiti.
i am not: as disciplined as I should be.
i believe: I will see Mia, Noah and Hope in our home soon!
i dance: well....
i sing: always.
i cry: when I think about how good God has been to me.
i don't always: keep my priorities in line.
i fight: the urge to do things my way, not God's.
i write: when I need to.
i never: skydive.
i listen: to praise and worship music all the time.
i need: to lose some weight.
i am happy about: the life God has given me.

I'm not going to pass this on to anyone specifically, because I haven't kept up with who has already done it. So, I guess I'll leave it with.....if you haven't done this yet, now it's your turn.

Strength!

I hope my recent post doesn't have everyone thinking we are struggling. I really wanted to post the video in celebration of the strength that has come in waiting on the Lord. We are encouraged, strengthened and at perfect peace! Our Lord is so faithful and we are not wrapped up in all the details, but know without a doubt that the Lord can handle it. : ) He started this journey and He can and will complete it. Of course we still anticipate everyday "the call" that we are out of MOI, but it doesn't haunt us, it's just an excited anticipation of what God is going to do! We have truly cast our care over on the Lord and trust His plan, His timing, and His perfect will! I determined that whether the kids come home next week or next month, I will rejoice, so I might as well enjoy the journey. Being sad, worried, anxious, stressed, etc.....doesn't change even one aspect of this process, so I might as well be happy, trusting, peaceful, and carefree. That is, in fact, what the Word tells us to do anyway, right? "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding with guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7 This scripture sums up what has happened in my heart.

Do I still miss them? Of course. Do I still long for the day they will join us? Without a doubt. Can you be happy in the midst of these two things? I found out, that absolutely you can. You can enjoy the joy of the Lord in every circumstance! Praise God!!

So, if you haven't yet, scroll down and watch the video, but do NOT do it without a smile on your face and joy in your heart. Please celebrate with us that strength has risen as we wait on the Lord!!

We will wait....

Spring Break was WONDERFUL!!

So, I realize it has been a while since I posted. First, on the adoption front, no news as of this morning, but I wait expectantly!

Second, we had a great time during Spring Break! We started it with a wonderful time of celebrating our risen Lord with our church family! Following our service, we headed to my mom's for her Resurrection Egg Scavenger Hunt and Easter Egg Hunt. The scavenger hunt is awesome. Each egg holds a piece of the story of Jesus death, burial and resurrection. The kids run all over the yard finding the eggs and reading the story. It always ends at the cross where my mom has a "treasure" box filled with goodies for all the kids. It is so awesome each year to hear the kids tell what the items represent.

And, yes, you guessed it. This year it was in the snow! You just have to LOVE Indiana weather. Once our Easter celebrations were over we officially started "Camp Meemaw's". We started this five years ago, when my sister and I called mom and said, "This year can we come to Meemaw's bed, breakfast, lunch and dinner for spring break." She agreed and the tradition of "Camp Meemaw's" began. We have so much fun each year and the kids adore this time with Meemaw. Here are a few pictures to showcase our week.

We made butter!

The kids painted sun catchers!

No camp is complete with out the campfire!

The talent show was a huge success!

We even line danced every evening out in the garage! This picture is from the talent show, when Meemaw and Papaw Doug had all the campers come out to showcase our new dance.

Last, but not least, it warmed up enough to fish! Yep, we went from snow on Sunday to 67 on Wednesday. So we fished all morning.

Ali had the first catch of the day!

Jordyn managed to get one too!

Camden caught one but we didn't get a picture because he caught a cat fish and it was so big it broke the line before we got a picture! So, here's a picture of him so he doesn't feel left out. : )

Thanks Meemaw and Papaw Doug for a wonderful "Camp Meemaw's 2008!" We had a WONDERFUL time!

Oh, one more thing, Jeremy came up on the last night and spent the night with us. You will see below the activity Papaw Doug had in store for him. I'm not sure, but he might not want to
come to camp next year.

Trust....

There has been one thing the Lord has continued to ask of us throughout this process, and that has been to Trust Him. There have been many times that news would come to us that was not what we were hoping for, or even worse, news that made this process seem literally impossible. However, through it all, the only thing the Lord would remind us to do is to Trust Him! Today I was reading a short daily devotion and I had to share it, because so many of us are in the same boat here. These devotions are written as letters from Jesus.

Trust Me one day at a time. Trust keeps you close to Me, responsive to My will. Trust is not a natural response, especially for those who have been deeply wounded. My Spirit within you is your resident Tutor, helping you in this supernatural endeavor. Yield to His gentle touch; be sensitive to His prompting.

Exert your will to trust Me in all circumstances. Don't let your need to understand distract you from My Presence. I will equip you to get through this day victoriously, as you live in deep dependence on Me. Tomorrow is busy worrying about itself, so don't get tangled up in it's worry-webs. Trust Me one day at a time.

Psalm 84:12
O LORD of hosts,
Blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Matthew 6:34
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about its own things.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

I pray that today you Trust Him in all things!

MOI update.......

So, we just found out that we are on the last desk in MOI!!! During my stay in Haiti, I was able to sit in on a meeting that Gretchen had with the attorney and her words were...."Once you are on the third desk it's not long at all." Praise God!!! We are one desk closer to our kids being home!!!!

I came home.....

Jeremy and I made the VERY tough decision for me to come home without the children. It was not easy and still hard at times to think about, but after lots of prayer and many tears shed we decided I was more needed here at home. I wasn't able to do much concerning our adoption other than check on the progress. It finally came down to Jeremy saying, "We need to give it to the Lord, completely. We need to trust Him and believe that He is working it out, and that we can do together, at home."

The kids were sad, but they did great. I think it helped all of us to know that it won't be long now. They really are coming home soon. We continue to pray that they will be out of MOI soon, due to the Embassy closing, but will trust the Lord's timing!

Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Thank you to many of you who were so encouraging and praying for me. I felt your prayers and appreciated your encouraging words! I look forward to the day when I can tell you that my three Haitian beauties are coming home, but until then I will praise the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever! His faithfulness endures to all generations!

Lamentations 3:22-24 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “ Therefore I hope in Him!”

Needing the man God gave me.....

Since I was eleven years old I have loved this man. I know that seems silly, to think that at eleven you even know what love is, but I believe God placed inside of me a love for this man that would never fade with time. Instead, it has continued to grow stronger with each passing day. I am so thankful for the life we have together. It is a life so full, that I can really say, my cup is overflowing. Is it a life full of material things? No, it is a life of pure joy, love, peace, contentment, friendship, and I could go on and on.

I'll admit I'm high maintenance. Not so much in needing "things", but needing the man God gave me. Needing his arms around me, needing his voice to calm my fears, needing his strength, needing his leadership as the head of our home, needing his wisdom, needing his sense of humor to lift me up, needing his hand in mine, needing his love.....

I miss you more than what I can express with the 26 letters I'm limited to. I have grown accustomed to having you by my side and long for the day we are together again. You are my very best friend and I love you more than you'll ever know this side of heaven. Praying God moves mountains and brings us home to you. I rest in the knowledge that our family will be complete one day soon and we can grow old together watching our children become the men and women God created them to be. I love you!

Still here.....

Well, as I'm sure you have figured out, I am still here. The last we heard was we were on the second of three desks in MOI. We are praying hard that we find out we are out next week!

Mark 10:27
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

I miss the other half of my family so much! It is very hard when you want so badly to be there for everyone, but you find yourself only able to be there for some and without the help of the one God gave you. Does that make sense?

I know God has me here for a reason, so I press on and pray for strength each day!

Here's a picture of the girls and I.....

M' la!!

I am here and having a great time with all the kids!! The kids were surprised! I loved the look on their faces!

News from today.....I took some time this morning to spend one on one time with some of the nursery kids. Mine are in the school from 8-12 so it's a perfect time to love on the little ones. First up was the birthday boy, Alixson. He turned a big 3 years old today. Next up was Ellie, Annabella, Layla & Nicot. After school, we did hair. For the first time ever I put beads in. It was way easier than I thought, praise God!! It was a fun day. I ended the night with a call on Skype to my wonderful husband and other three kids, so it couldn't have been better. Well, not unless I had gotten the news that I could take my kids home. Maybe that would have been better, but for now I'll take it and praise God for this opportunity to be home away from home. :)

Almost time......

It's almost time for me to leave. I'm doing laundry like mad and trying to get the kids school stuff lined out. I'm down to just a little over 24 hours until I will be heading to the airport. I'm excited but a little anxious as well. I am planning to stay until the kids can come home. We are unsure of how long that stay will be, but we believe it is what God is leading us to do. So, into the unknown I go! I'm thrilled about being with the kids, but I'm missing Jeremy and our other three already. We are praying that one day very soon we will no longer be apart, but will finally be united as a complete family!

Happy Valentines Day!!!!

It was a great day, but as you can see we are exhausted!!!

Phone call #2

Again, it is so wonderful having this opportunity to talk to them. This time I only talked to Mia and Samendia(another little girl coming to Evansville).

Mia was speaking English so well! I couldn't believe how much she has picked up in the month that Sandy has been there. Sandy said she doesn't speak much Creole yet and she only speaks English to the children in hopes it will help when they go home. It will definitely help Jeremy because as Mia pointed out, He doesn't speak Creole. :) When she talked to Jeremy or about him she said, "My Daddy!" I think it maybe melted his heart just a little. ;) Before, she usually called him Papa Zeromy, so it was pretty sweet to hear her say, "My Daddy." I tried to speak Creole with her, but she said, "I don't speak Creole." :)

She asked us how our day was, said she was doing good in school, and asked if she could come home. I told her they were coming soon and she said, "When? Saturday, or...." I said I didn't know, but I knew it would be soon. It was so hard not telling her I was coming to see her. I wanted to so bad, but I didn't. I can't wait! She wanted to see the house, so I again showed her what I could. She got really excited about the piano and Jordy played a little song for her.

Jordyn had a friend spend the night last night, so we introduced her and Mia asked if she was her sister too. I told her no she was a friend and then Mia asked if she lived here too. We said no but she lives in Evansville. That seemed to satisfy her about that. :)

Samendia then got on the phone and said, "Hello Meeshell! I love you! How are you?" She said hello to Jeremy and then we got cut off. It was so fun! I love this new communication opportunity! It truly helps the wait to be not quite as painful. Thanks again Don and Sandy for making it happen!

(Picture compliments of Sandy's post from the first phone calls)

Shhhhh.....It's a surprise!

Well, I'm heading to Haiti on February 19th, arriving on the 20th. I can't wait to see my babies. If we are out of MOI before it is time for me to leave then I will stay in Haiti until the kids come home.

The surprise is for the kids. I'm not going to tell them that I am coming! Mia has asked that I come but we just keep telling her it won't be long until she comes home, so I don't think they are expecting it at all. I can't wait to see their faces when they come in from school and there I am!!

Funny thing I just remembered.... I went last February as a surprise too! It was the trip to tell the girls we wanted to be there family. I didn't tell Angela or the kids I was coming and it was so much fun to see their reaction. :)

Thank you Lord for this opportunity to go!

We love Parkway!

This video was created by Parkway Christian Church. They were an amazing group of volunteers from a mission trip in October. I had a feeling there would be some parents who would LOVE to see their children through the eyes of these volunteers. Thanks Parkway for all you did and all you continue to do. You are a blessing to Three Angels!

Our God is so faithful!!

On Wednesday, my mom called with the news that they had diagnosed her with breast cancer, and she would be going on Friday to see what they wanted to do next. The Doctor had said they caught it early, but NOBODY ever likes hearing those words, "you have cancer."

On Thursday, I called Mom and asked if I could go with her to the Dr. so I could hear what the options were. She agreed and in the end my mom, step-dad, sister and I all left for Indy Friday morning. We had a great trip there laughing and enjoying each others company. I think Mom was thrilled to have my sister and I as a distraction. We tend to get a little crazy and simply have a good time.

We arrived at the Dr's office and I think we all had butterflies as we waited to hear what she had to say. The first words were the best we could have heard, "She's going to be ok." Praise God!! Honestly, the results could have only been better if they would have said, "we made a mistake." Mom is at stage 0, meaning they caught it as early as you possible can. She is having an MRI on Friday to confirm, but they believe they will be able to do a lumpectomy with radiation treatment and that's it!! We have been praising the Lord for this wonderful news. As the Dr. put it, if you have to have cancer, this is how to have it. : ) Praise God for answered prayers!!! Please join us in praying that Mom's MRI is clear and they can proceed with treatment as planned!!

Mom is such an amazing person!! I am so thankful for the example she has always been to me. One thing I have heard time and time again is, "She has a way of making everyone she meets feel special and loved." It is so true. If anyone is an example of the love of God, it is her! Thank you Lord for giving me such a wonderful mom! Help me to follow her lead in sharing Your love with others!

This picture is from my very first trip to Haiti. Mom conquered her fear of flying and went with me when I met Noah. I met so many wonderful people on that trip and my life has never been the same. Thanks, Mom, for being my traveling buddy! I look forward to many more trips with you in the years to come! I love you!

15 minutes of pure joy......

We just talked to our Haitian beauties! It was wonderful!! We showed them part of the house and they asked about beds, bikes and our dog, Jubilee, who was not available for comment. This was very disturbing apparently. So plans for the next call is to do it downstairs so they can see Jubilee. Oh, I miss them so much!! I'm ready to hop on a plane now and stay until they come home!!! Thank you Lord for bringing them home soon!!

Hope enjoying a very important treat.....

"What's up with the hair?"

This was the title of the following picture Jen sent me from the medical trip that just arrived home. My response was, "What? What's wrong with that?" Unfortunately, there might be several days that it looks just like that when she comes home. I hope not, but realistically......I'm sure it will happen. : ) Thankfully, she is beautiful no matter what!!

We're in!

Now we will pray to get out!! : )

News from Haiti is that we are officially in MOI! Praise God!! Once we come out, passports will be printed and we will get a VISA to bring them home! YEAH!!!! I think I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel!!!!!!

Our God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask or think! He is faithful to bring to pass what He has called us to do! He will do it!!!! Praise the Lord!!

A sweet little distraction......

Jeremy finally gave in and let me use some Christmas money to get the kids and I a puppy(Thanks Mom and Mark for the money!!). We were given the money before Christmas so we surprised the kids on Christmas morning with our newest member of the family. I would love to introduce you to Miss Daisy Cundiff......










"Christmas morning."

Ali couldn't resist buying a dress for her with some of her Christmas money.









"Daisy sporting her new outfit."

We went to my Dad's for Christmas and saw my Grandma's new puppy which is the same breed as our Daisy.... They had a great time playing.









"Daisy and Bandit."

This has indeed been a sweet little distraction from all the waiting. Thanks babe!

Praise God!!

Check out our Final Fundraiser ------->

God is so awesome!! We are almost half way to our goal! Thank you to all who have contributed thus far and if you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, just click on the link Bringing them home....

We are trusting God that He will supply all of our needs!! Thank you for your giving, your prayers and for passing it on!! We are praying that God will bless you in a huge way for being His hands!

A few of my favorites.....

I have literally taken thousands of pictures in Haiti. I wanted to take a moment to look at a few favorites of our children. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them. (But I doubt you will......) : )

Ok, obviously, I didn't take all of them, since I am in a few, but I sure did enjoy being in them.

Final Fundraiser!

We are getting so close to travel time, but need to do one final fundraiser to get our three beauties home! Please check out our site if you get a chance and feel free to pass it on!!

Final fundraiser!!!

Most of all though, join us in praying that God supplies all our need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!!!

We want to thank One Dollar Adoption for helping us with this fundraiser!